Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear have joined ‘House Of Cards’ for its final season, Netflix has confirmed.
Production on the sixth series of the political drama began on Wednesday (31 January), after a shutdown which came following sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey.
The Frank Underwood actor subsequently departed the programme and it was announced Claire Underwood, played by Robin Wright, will be the sole lead star for the drama’s final outing.
Netflix is yet to reveal details about who Diane and Greg will be playing.
Both actors are Oscar nominees and the former is best-known for her roles in ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’, ‘Hollywoodland’ and ‘A Perfect Storm’. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, this is her first regular TV role.
Greg will be familiar to viewers thanks to his appearances in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, ‘Anchorman’ and the ongoing series ‘Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dream’.
It’s currently unclear how the writers will tackle Kevin’s swift exit and it’s unlikely we’ll find out Frank’s fate before the new episodes arrive on Netflix.
The sixth season will be shorter than its predecessors, comprising of eight episodes.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme in early December 2017, Michael Dobbs, the creator of the original ‘House Of Cards’ and executive producer of the Netflix series, opened up about the decision to axe Spacey.
“It’s not been the easiest few weeks, my world seemed to tilt on its axis somewhat,” he said. “But at the end of the day, no individual is greater than the show.
“There are so many things involved and thousands of people depend, either directly or indirectly, on the show for their jobs.”